


Living Louder

by orphan_account



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon), Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Coming of Age, F/M, Family Relations, Fluff, Friendship, Secrets, Teen Angst, Teenage Shenanigans, more characters will be added, title taken from song of same name, with angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-10
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-30 10:36:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 12,524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10875006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Artemis Crock finds herself surrounded by a group of people who might just be as messed up as she is.Or the one where everyone learns that growing up is a lot harder than it looks.





	1. Young Independence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which Introductions And A Plan Are Made

“And is your phone charged?” 

“Yes.” 

“And you have the money we gave you in the case of an emergency?” 

“Yes.” 

“Oh, did you remember to use the bathroom—“ 

“Yes.” Fifteen-year-old Wally West looks up at his Aunt Iris and Uncle Barry, extremely exasperated. 

“You guys, chill. This isn’t the first time you guys are leaving for the weekend. And besides, I’m not gonna be alone.” 

“Yes. That’s the part that concerns us.” Barry said. Iris and he have each other concerned looks as they remembered last year. “Remember last time—“ 

“So we made a small mess with the jello. But that was totally Kaldur’s fault. I mean who doesn’t know what jello is?” 

“Did you have to convince him it was sent from outer space?” Barry sighed. 

“Hey, that was Dick’s idea, not mine.” 

“Come on you two, we need to get moving if we want to make it on time. “ Iris interjected grabbing her suitcase. 

“Yeah, we cannot be late again,” Wally said sprinting out the front door. 

 

“Come on, Bruce! We have to get there before Wally.” Dick said excitedly dragging his adoptive father by the arm. 

“Knowing Barry, that shouldn’t be too hard.” Bruce grumbled. The billionaire sighed and put on his sunglasses. It was way too bright outside. 

“Why do I do this again, Alfred?” Bruce loaded his suitcase into the limousine. 

“Perhaps, because even you are aware that spending some time with your friends would do you some good, sir.” 

“They’re not my friends,” Bruce muttered. And if you looked closely you would see that the man seemed to be pouting. 

“Mr Kent and Miss Prince would disagree, sir.” Dick let out a laugh as he climbed into the limousine. 

“Seriously, Bruce. You gotta lighten up. You know what Clark’s gonna say if you show up like that.” Dick chided. 

“Clark can shove his stupid ‘smiles only’ rule up his—“ 

“Master Bruce!” Alfred warned from the driver’s seat. Bruce sighed. He couldn’t wait to get this weekend over with. 

“You’re acting like you hate this.” 

“I do.” 

“You’re just so underwhelmed…” 

 

“Relax, they’ll love you.” 

“I don’t want them to love me. I want to stay here.” 

“It’s going to loads of fun, Artemis. Tell her Roy.” 

“You’ll hate every second of it.” 

“Roy.” 

“Oh sorry. Don’t worry Blondie. Think of it this way, at least you’ll have plenty of time to plan Ollie’s murder.” 

“You’re still not helping Roy.” 

“Mission accomplished.” 

“You two morons stop arguing. Artemis, you will have a good time, I promise.” Dinah Lance rested a hand on the younger girl's shoulder. Artemis was like a daughter to her and Dinah wanted to make sure she felt safe. It had only been a month since Oliver Queen had officially adopted the half-Vietnamese teen and Artemis was still trying to adjust. 

“Come on, guys. Let’s go.” Oliver said lifting up the suitcases. “This will be great!” Both Roy and Artemis groaned but followed them anyways. 

 

.  
“This is going to be so much fun!” Seventeen-year-old M’gann M’orzz or Megan Morse happily loaded the cab with the luggage. Her uncle J’onn J’onzz aka John Jones smiled at her and slid into the backseat. 

“Yes, I do hope you enjoy yourself M’gann. But remember to be careful.” 

“Don’t worry Uncle John. This is going to be the best!” 

“Have you gotten everything?” 

“Yes, I think that’s —Hello Megan!” She said smacking her forehead. “I almost forgot my phone. Silly me.” It had been a little over a year since she had moved here. M’gann used to live with her family in South Africa. She had heard so much about America and loved every bit of it. Especially because it was easier for her to fit in here. 

“I can’t wait to see everyone again! Dick, Wally, Kaldur, and I’m sure Roy missed us all!” 

M’gann excitedly babbled the entire car ride and her uncle was more than happy to listen. 

 

“Kaldur let me help you with that.” 

“No, is it alright.” Kaldur carried all of his, Arthur’s and Mera’s belongings to the car. 

“Honestly, Kaldur you don’t have to do everything yourself.” Arthur chuckled. Kaldur simply smiled at his host family. He was originally from Greece but had gone to America to study. He had been in the USA for over three years now and was very thankful for Mera and Arthur. 

“It is fine. I have no problem with it.” Kaldur smiled. 

“You have a good time too now, Kaldur,” Mera said putting on her seatbelt. 

“I wish you a lovely time as well, Mera.” 

“Keep the other boys out of trouble. We don’t need a repeat of last year.” Arthur said. 

Kaldur blushed sheepishly, ‘I suppose that was my fault though.” 

“We’re just teasing, Kaldur.” Mera chuckled. 

“I’m sure you’re excited to see your friends again. That’ll be fun.” 

“Yes. I have missed them.” Kaldur said remembering the fond memories he had over the years with Wally, Dick, Roy and recently M’gann. “I’m sure we will have a very good time indeed.” 

 

“Sweetheart, you know I love you. But honestly, what do you plan on doing with five suitcases. We are literally only gone for the weekend.” 

“I need them, okay? Now shut up and help me get these into the trunk.” 

“You need five suitcases filled with clothing?” 

“Yes, I need them, Clark. So instead of standing there looking cute, why don’t you help me out?” Lois Lane did not like waiting. And right now her husband was making her wait. 

“Aww, you think I’m cute.” Clark wrapped his arms around his tense wife and planted a kiss on her temple. Lois rolled her eyes at him. 

“My love for you isn’t going to get those suitcases to fit.” 

“How about two suitcases only?” Lois glared. “Three?” She groaned and covered her face with her hands. “Lois, come on. It’s not the end of the world. And besides,” Clark put his hands on her hips and tugged her close. “I’d honestly prefer you to have fewer clothes on this trip…” 

Lois smiled up at him. 

“Oh really?” she wrapped her arms around his neck and rested her forehead against his. 

“Mmmhmm…” 

“Seriously you guys! At least wait until I’m gone!” Clark’s younger cousin Kara shouted.  
“Gross…” the blonde shuddered. 

“Alright, let’s go.” Clark rolled his eyes. 

“This is going to be awesome.” Kara cheered strapping in. 

“I cannot wait for a weekend away from everything,” Lois said lowering her sunglasses. 

“Ready?” Clark asked. 

“Yep, but I’m driving Smallville.” The brunette grabbed the keys from his hands and climbed into the driver’s seat. 

“Every time…” Clark sighed. 

 

Artemis peered out of the window as they pulled up to a massive beach house. It was large and looked rather impressive. 

“I’m staying here?” Artemis looked over at Oliver in disbelief. Oliver smiled at his adoptive daughter. 

“Yu-huh. This used to be our vacation spot up each year.”

“Until Hal lit his bathtub on fire and burnt half the building down.” Dinah rolled her eyes. 

“Didn’t know that was possible but okay. So you’re leaving me in a partially burned down structure.” 

“Relax, it’s been rebuilt. We use it for you kids now.”

“Mainly because no one wants to relive the memory of Hal ruining everything. Again.” 

“Let it go, Dinah.” Oliver sighed. “And, we’re here.” 

Roy got out first, grabbed his things and headed for the house. Artemis took a deep breath and hoisted up her duffel bag. Ollie had said there’d be other kids around his age. Plus Roy would be supervising, as if that was supposed to be comforting. 

“Ready?” Oliver asked closing up the car. 

“I guess so.” 

They hiked up the path to the top of the hill. They were in a pretty secluded area. The only house Artemis could see was one way across the lake. At least that meant fewer people to deal with. 

When they entered through the glass doors, Artemis saw about a dozen people talking and standing in the front foyer. 

A tall black haired woman came forward and gave Dinah a hug. “So good to see you again, Diana!” Diana turned towards Artemis with a welcoming smile. 

“You must be Artemis. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Artemis shook the woman’s hand and offered a weak smile. Dinah introduced her to everyone else. Artemis looked over at Bruce’s adopted son, Dick. He still had that maniacal grin on his face and Artemis was beginning to worry. 

“Barry still not here yet?’ Oliver asked. “There’s a shock.”

A moment later a red haired woman followed by a tall blonde man came through the door. 

“Sorry, we’re late. Someone just had to stop to get snacks. Twice.” Iris said brushing hair out of her face. 

“You know I get hungry.” Barry pouted. 

“You truly are a saint, Iris.” Diana chuckled. 

“Hey!”

“The real saint is you, Diana. You’re the one who carpooled with Hal.”

“Hey! What did I do?”

“You set the bathtub on fire.” Everyone else chorused. 

“One time guys. One time.” 

Artemis saw another figure bursting through the door. It was a red-haired boy around her age dressed in beach attire. He was holding his luggage when he tripped at the doorway and sent his things flying. 

“Ooof!”

“Nice, one.” Dick snickered as a beach ball bounced past Bruce and John. Wally stood up blushing and awkwardly waved at everyone. 

“Okay, yeah, hey Wally.” Lois pushed her way to the centre and turned her attention to the adults. “We need to leave now if we’re going to make our reservations on time.” 

Dinah turned to where all the kids were standing. “Okay, you guys know the rules. emergency numbers are on the fridge, there’s food in the pantry, enough for you too, Wally, and whatever you do, DO NOT LEAVE THE PREMISES.”

“Remember Roy is in charge,” Oliver added. 

“Roy was in charge last year too.“ Bruce pointed out. 

“Which is why we brought Kara this year.” 

“Oh thank god.” Dinah let out a relieved sigh. 

The adults all piled out saying their goodbyes and good lucks. Roy muttered something under his breath and walked away. 

Dick turned to face Artemis. “Dick Grayson.” Artemis warily shook his extended hand. 

“I’m Artemis.” 

“Hi! I’m M’gann, but you can call me Megan!” a perky redhead popped forward and enveloped Artemis in a hug. “We’re going to be like sisters! I mean I have twelve sisters back home, this will still be so much fun too, won’t it?”

“I wouldn’t know. I don’t have any sisters.” Artemis said brushing her off. 

“I am Kaldur.” Artemis shook the older, taller, and buffer boy’s hand. 

“Hey I’m Kara.” the pretty blonde waved. Artemis turned to officially introduce herself to Wally. 

“Roy doesn’t like you.” he frowned at her. 

“Well, congrats for Roy.” 

“He says you’re rude and annoying.” Artemis narrowed her eyes and took a step forward. 

“Wally,” Kara warned. 

“Looks like it’s true,” Wally mumbled. 

“Whatever, Baywatch. Did Roy also mention I’m capable of not tripping over my own two feet?” Wally opened his mouth to respond but Kara cut in. 

“Guys, let’s just go pick out our rooms. I’m sure Roy has already picked his.” Artemis picked up her bag and followed Kara angrily. Who did that freckled loser think he was? 

Artemis made it up the stairs and decided to take the first door she saw. 

“Umm, that’s my room. Yours is that one.” Wally pointed to the one with a green door at the end of the hallway. Whatever, Artemis preferred green anyways. 

She entered the room and sat down on the green comforter. Yeah, Oliver definitely picked her room out. It was simple and elegant. There was a bed, a closet, and a desk. Artemis debated whether to pull out her laptop and check her Facebook but decided that there probably wasn’t anything new. 

“Might as well go see what’s for dinner.” 

 

“Bro, what was up with you and Artemis back there?’ Dick asked grabbing a can of soda.

“Nothing man. She’s just so annoying.” 

“You’ve known her for like twenty minutes.” Dick chuckled sitting on the counter. 

“I trust Roy’s judgement.” 

“I know Roy’s our friend, but don’t you think he might be a little jealous. And besides Roy’s been off for a while.” 

“Who cares?” Wally dug around until he found a bag of Cheetos. “Sick!”

“Calm down.”

“Sorry, but look at all this food! Guess I'm a little overwhelmed.”

“You’re overwhelmed, Bruce was underwhelmed. Why is no one ever just whelmed?” Dick sighed. 

“What are you talking about?” Wally swallowed a handful of Cheetos. 

“So what do you guys want to eat?” Kara asked walking into the kitchen followed by Artemis who glared at Wally. 

“Pizza!” Wally crowed. 

“You always want pizza.” Kaldur pointed out. 

“Everyone loves pizza man.” 

“Okay, homemade pizza it is.” 

“Oh! I’ll help!” Megan offered.

“NO!” Artemis looked over at everyone’s panicked faces. What was that all about? Megan frowned. “I’ve been practising my cooking skills though.”

“It’s okay, Megan. Of course, you can help. Just, uh, don’t do anything that I don’t tell you to, alright.” Kara said shooing Dick off the counter. 

“Don’t worry, Megalicious. I love your cooking.” Wally said smiling flirtatiously at her. Artemis rolled her eyes. Of course, he was into the cute, innocent girl. 

“Come on, Artemis. We’ll show you around.” Dick offered. He led them to a large opening. Artemis saw a large door leading a patio. There was a large couch in front of a massive flat screen TV. The room had cold stone walls and was nice and big. 

“This is The Cave!” Dick said launching himself onto the sofa. An adequate name for the room. 

“We usually chill out here most of the time. And we have a Wii U.” Dick pointed to the video game console.

“I have the record for Mario Kart.” Wally boasted sitting next to his best friend. 

“Really? So I’d stand no chance against you.” Artemis said smirking. 

“Obviously not,” Wally said crossing his arms. 

“Well, I’ll try my best anyways.” Artemis sat on the other side of Dick with her controller. Artemis also happened to be a champion at Mario Kart and dominated Wally. Wally then demanded a re-match. So they played against each other for an hour while Dick laughed at Wally’s consecutive failures. 

“Pizza’s ready!” called out Kara. 

“So much for your record,” Artemis said sympathetically. Wally just glared and stormed off into the kitchen. 

“Yeah, I definitely like you,” Dick said as he cartwheeled into the dining area. 

The pizza was delicious so either Megan really had improved on her cooking skills or Kara did most of the work. Everyone hung around and caught up on what they all had been up to for the past few months. Artemis was actually enjoying this more than she’d like to admit. She was definitely surrounded by an interesting group of people. Kaldur enjoyed to swim and could apparently swim on an Olympic level. Megan was from South Africa (Artemis would have never guessed that given the girl’s pale complexion), Dick was some sort of ninja gymnast, and Kara well Kara seemed pretty normal. Artemis also found that there were some touchy subjects among her new friends. She had made a joke about Dick being from the circus and everything became quiet and uncomfortable. While she was curious, Artemis knew when to butt out of a person’s private life. She wasn’t about to spill her secrets so she didn't expect anything from anyone else. 

Eventually, they all headed to bed. Maybe she was going to have a good time. 

 

Dick was awoken from his blissful sleep to the sound of shouting and the smell of smoke. Deciding that just in case there actually was a fire, he should probably get up. Dick made his way downstairs sleepily rubbing his eyes. 

“What the fuck?” Roy marched out his room in his boxers angrily. 

“Smoke, yelling, possibly a fire. Megan must be baking again.” Dick mumbled. 

“Fuck.” 

The smoke clouded around the kitchen as Dick approached the scene of the crime, so to speak.

“My cookies!” Megan darted past them and into the kitchen. 

“What is happening here?” Kara burst into the kitchen. “Someone open a window.” The smoke eventually began to clear and Dick was sure no one would suffer from any permanent lung damage. 

“Sorry guys. I was, uh watching some TV while the cookies were in the oven. Guess I left them in there too long.”

“No shit!” 

“Roy, please calm down. It was an accident. No harm was done.” Kaldur placated the older redhead. 

“My sleep was disrupted,” Roy grumbled. 

“Boo hoo. All you ever do is sleep anyways. I think you’ll survive.” Artemis said rolling her eyes. “And if you don’t, we won’t miss you.” Roy just muttered obscenities under his breath and headed back up to his room. 

“Sorry, I just thought everyone could use a snack to eat,” Megan said looking at her feet. 

“Relax, Megs, Roy’ll get over it,” Dick said smiling at her. Kaldur looked around the room. “Where is Wally?” 

“Probably still sleeping.”

“He slept through all that?” Artemis asked in disbelief. 

“I’m like 95% sure he could sleep through an earthquake.” 

“While might as well get started on breakfast.” 

 

It was around 11 am when the gang decided to head out to the beach. According to Dick, they had a tonne of stuff in the garage. They had already made plans to have water gun fights, so surfboarding and have a beach volleyball tournament. But when they opened up the garage, it was empty. 

“Hey! Where’d all our stuff go?” Wally asked scratching his head. “Did they move it somewhere else?” 

“No, Bruce said he left all our stuff here…” Dick said looking around. 

“Well, this blows.” Artemis crossed her arms and leant against the wall. 

“Why thank you Captain Obvious.” Wally retorted. 

Before Artemis could respond Dick noticed a sheet of paper taped to the wall. 

“What’s it say?” M’gann asked.

“Thanks for the gear, losers.  
Your stuff is now ours.  
-Your Neighbours” 

“Those jackasses across the lake stole our equipment?” 

“Looks like it.”

“We should call the police,” Kara said frowning. 

“No way! They idiots always mess with us. I say it’s our turn to mess with them.” Dick crumpled the piece of paper.

“What are you suggesting?” Artemis asked. She liked that slightly evil glint in the younger boy’s eyes. Dick smirked. “I may have a few ideas on how to get back at them.” 

“I’m in,” Wally said. 

“Same here,” Roy added.

“As long as we get our stuff back.” Megan decided. 

“Alright, what you got kiddo?” Kara said joining the circle. 

“This is not going to end well.” Kaldur sighed but he listened in on Dick’s plan nonetheless.


	2. Young Independence Part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which The Plan Inevitably Fails and Shit Hits The Fan

Considering just about all their gear and equipment had been stolen they still managed to get a fairly large arsenal.

Flashback:

“So, what did everyone manage to find?” Dick asked. It was completely dark out and they had formulated their plan and had now gone to find some ‘weapons of mass destruction’ as Dick put it. 

“I got out secret paintball guns that we brought,” Wally said putting down two rifles that were pre-loaded with ammunition. 

“I got ten rolls of toilet paper we found in a closet.” M’gann dropped the rolls into the pile. 

“Nice, nice.” Dick nodded. “Anyone find anything else?”

“No, not unless we plan on throwing our can soup at them,” Artemis said. 

“Okay, well I have a couple of smoke bombs, spray paint, and one flare.” Everyone turned and blinked at the youngest member of their squad. 

“How did—you know what. I don’t want to know.” Artemis held up her hands and shook her head. 

They had managed to find a few old canoes that they used to paddle across the lake at midnight. They reached the beach on the other side in little under two hours. They were all dressed in black attire. The seven of them silently crept up to the other beach house until they were standing on the front porch. 

“Everyone remember their tasks?” Dick whispered. “Roy and Artemis, you two are in charge of TPing. Make sure you get toilet paper everywhere. Kara, Megan, and Kaldur you guys will find our stuff and load it onto the canoes. Wally and I are in charge of making sure these guys never even think about messing with us gain. Everyone ready? The Frost family won’t know what hit ‘em. Let’s move.”

“Wait!” Wally called out. 

“What is it now?” Roy grumbled. 

“We need like code names.” 

“Why? We don’t even have comms.” Artemis hissed. 

“Oh right… How about a team name?” Wally grinned.

“No. We are not a team.” Roy scowled.

“I don’t know. It feels like we’re a team.” Dick said.

“Yeah, I was getting a team vibe too,” Megan added. 

“Yeah me too…”

“It’s not a team. This is strictly a one-time thing. I don’t plan on hanging out with you losers ever again, alright?” Roy glared at his younger peers. 

“Okay, if we’re not a team then what are we?” Wally asked. 

“A squad?” Kaldur suggested. 

“A task force!” Dick decided. “Okay so now we need a task force name.” 

“Oh for the love of God! Can we just get on with the property damage we intended to do?” Artemis huffed at Dick. 

“Okay, okay. Yeesh. Somebody is not whelmed. Alright. Let’s do this!” 

 

After they had snuck in through and open window, the team split up. While Megan, Kara, and Kaldur searched for their things, Dick and Wally headed for the living room. They spray painted the walls and furniture as they moved throughout the house. When they reached their destination, it was time for their final plan. 

“You sure this is gonna work man?” Wally asked nervously watching his friend work. 

“Positive, bro.” Dick made a few more adjustments and… “There. Now whoever is the first person to walk through this door will be blinded by this flare that will go off. Ha ha!” 

“You scare me sometimes, you know?”

“I know.” Dick grinned. He checked his phone to see that they had found all the stolen items and brought them back to the beach and that Artemis and Roy were just about done with their job. 

“Let’s go, Wally. Be careful not to touch that,” he gestured to his clever booby trap. “We cannot have that thing going off.” 

“Relax, man. I’m not a klutz or anything.” As he said that, Wally tripped on his untied shoelace and fell backwards, pulling on Dick’s tripwire. 

“You idiot!” Dick hissed and threw himself onto the ground and covered his eyes. A second later a large flash came off from the flare blinding Wally. 

“I can’t see!” Wally wailed, bumping into the tabling and breaking some glass. 

“Oh my god, shut up!” Dick said. “You’re going to wake somebody up!” 

“It burns!” Wally whined, albeit quieter. 

“Come on, moron. We need to get out of here.” Dick dragged Wally’s arm (forcefully) back to the window they came through. 

“Hey, are you guys okay? I heard screaming.” Megan asked climbing through the window. 

“We’re fine! Let’s just leave. Get through the window, Wally!” 

“I can’t see the window!” Wally whispered angrily. 

“Here let's just go through the front door,” Megan said and went to go open the door. 

“Megan NO!” Dick widened his eyes in horror. As soon as Megan opened the door, blaring alarms went off and emergency lights flashed. 

“Shit shit shit shit shit shiiiiit!” Dick ran his hand through his hair. “We need to leave. Like NOW.” 

The three teens sprinted through the door and went to find their other team members. 

“The fuck is going on?” Roy asked covering his ears. 

“No time to explain! Get back to the canoes!” Dick yelled hurtling a semi-blind Wally into Kaldur’s arms. 

“I knew this would end badly.” Kaldur sighed throwing the smaller redhead over his shoulders. 

“Judge our impulsive actions after we get out of here!” But before they could do that, a voice called out, “Stop! Hey, you stupid kids!” A figure came running after them. 

“You morons did this! You ruined my house!” their neighbour angrily shouted waving at the now completely TPed house. “You’ll pay for this!” Leonard Snart shouted following them. 

“Run!” 

“Get back here!” BANG! BANG! BANG! 

“He has a gun!” Kara shouted pushing Artemis and Megan to the ground. 

“Motherfu—Stay down!” Dick yelled scrambling for his paintball gun. It was dark but he managed to shoot their attacker before he could reload his gun. Loud obscenities were heard as the kids made a break for it. 

“What do we do?” Artemis yelled jumping over some branches as they ran for the beach. 

“Keep running!” Dick stopped for a moment to pull out his smoke bombs. When he could see not only Snart but his family chasing them he launched his smoke bombs at them and two seconds later a loud BOOM could be heard. 

“Ha!” Dick cheered as he heard them coughing and spluttering. 

“You stupid kids will pay for this! I swear!” 

“Man he is not whelmed,” Dick said climbing into his canoe. 

“What is it with you and whelmed?” Wally asked as they paddled as fast as they could. 

 

The gang all flopped onto the couch completely exhausted and worn out. It was now early dawn. 

“Well, I think that was an overall success,” Wally said, finally able to see clearly. 

“We wouldn’t have had to book it out of there if you hadn’t screwed up.” Artemis scowled at him. 

“Hey—” 

“There is no use in pinning the blame. The important thing is that we all made it back.” Kaldur said diffusing the situation. 

“And that we got our stuff back.” M’gann cheered. 

“And that our parents will never find out what we did tonight,” Dick said. Everyone nodded and murmured in agreement. “Seriously, no one speaks a word of tonight.” 

“Oh don’t worry. We all already know what you did.” They all turned around to see their guardians standing in the doorway. And those were not happy faces. 

“Oh shit.” 

 

“Not only did you all disobey our orders but you broke several laws tonight. You all could have been seriously injured. What were you all thinking?” Dinah paced the floor as the kids sat on the couch in front of her. 

“We’re sorry, Dinah. We screwed up, we weren’t thinking.” Artemis said. 

“Of course you weren’t thinking! If you were thinking you wouldn’t have done something so completely irresponsible!” Dinah snapped. No one said another word. 

“Finished talking to the police. You’re lucky John got the call. No charges were pressed.” Bruce said crossing his arms as he stood next to Dinah. 

“That’s because they tried to shoot us!” Dick started but closed his mouth when he saw Bruce’s glare. He couldn’t remember a time when Bruce looked so upset with him. Clark walked in followed by Barry and Iris. 

“Kara, time to go.” Kara silently stood up shakily. She hated that she disappointed her cousin. Clark put an arm around his cousin’s shoulder and gave a nod to Bruce. 

“Come on kid,” Barry said gesturing Wally to get up. Everyone’s guardians came and picked them up taking them home. 

During the car ride home, Dick tried to keep his breathing even. Bruce hadn’t said a word to him, much less uttered a single syllable. He wouldn’t even look at Dick. Dick should say something, he should apologise.When they finally arrived back at the manor, Bruce got out of the car wordlessly. Alfred gave the young teen a sympathetic look and asked him if he would like anything to eat. Dick said no and headed straight for his room. He flopped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. His chest hurt; maybe from the smoke, he inhaled earlier or maybe from the guilt. It was hard to tell. 

Dick was unsure how much time had passed when he heard Bruce’s footsteps entering his room. Neither of them said anything for a moment. 

“How long am I grounded for?” Dick asked not taking his eyes off of the ceiling. 

“Is that all you care about?” Bruce asked. His voice was cold and harsh causing Dick to visibly flinch. “You could have been seriously injured, Dick. You could have been killed. And for what? To get your stuff back? You know we could have bought new gear.You knew you didn’t have to do something so stupid. You knew that.” 

“I know I shouldn't have done what I did. Stop treating me like a child.” Dick said his breathing ragged. 

“Treating you like a child? I am treating you like a child because what you did last night was childish. You acted like a child. You thought you knew what you were doing and acted on impulse. Not only did you put yourself and your friends in danger, you broke my trust, Dick. I trusted that you would follow the rules a set out for you. I guess I was wrong.” Bruce turned to leave. Dick let out a shaky breath as he wiped away tears from his eyes. He squeezed his eyes shut and wished the feeling in his chest would go away. 

 

It had been another three days since they returned home and Bruce was now sitting in his office at his company’s skyscraper. Paperwork, there was always paperwork to do. It was a good distraction. The last few days, Dick and he had barely spoken a word. Alfred, unable to handle the tension, had urged Bruce to talk to Dick. Bruce, of course, refused to. He couldn't believe what Dick had done. He was in no mood to have another talk with Dick, especially after how smoothly their last one went. So here he was, filling out an endless supply of paperwork. Until he heard a knock at his door. Looking up he saw Clark Kent leaning against his door frame. Bruce debated whether or not he should just ignore his reporter friend. 

“You busy?” Bruce sighed, ignoring Clark was like trying to ignore the sun. 

“You here for an interview? Because I’d prefer Lois.” Bruce deadpanned not looking up from the important (well he assumed it was important) contracts he was signing. 

“And they say you don’t have a sense humour.”

“Who says that?” 

“Mostly Diana.” Bruce merely scoffed. 

“So why are you here?” Bruce said finally looking up. 

“Came to see a good friend,” Clark said. Bruce leant back in his chair and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “How have you been?’ Clark asked sitting down in the chair that was placed in the corner of the office space. 

“We just spent an entire weekend together Clark,” Bruce said raising an eyebrow. 

“A lot happened during that weekend and since then.” Bruce looked away. “How’s Dick doing?” Bruce resisted the urge to snap at Clark and tell him to get out. Instead, he looks at his oldest friend and lets out a long breath. 

“I don’t understand Clark. I don’t understand how Dick could do something like that. I don’t understand why he would do something so reckless. Why would he break my trust like that?” 

“Because he’s growing up Bruce. He’s going to,” Clark stepped forward, “He’s going to do things that you don’t like. He’s going to disobey you and he’s going to argue with you. You won’t like it. You’ll probably be angry at him. But you’ll still love him. And he’ll still love you.” 

“So what do I do?” 

“You let him know you still trust him.” 

“How do I do that?” 

Clark gave Bruce a wry smile, “Don’t look at me. I’m not the one with kids.” After that Clark turned to leave. Bruce shook his head smiling a bit. 

“Do you wish you did?” Clark turned back to look at him. “Do you wish you had kids?” Clark paused for a moment and cocked his head to the right. “Sometimes.” And with that, he turned to leave. 

Bruce sighed. “Damn you, Clark Kent. Damn you.” 

 

“Okay, if you guys are going to be doing this, there will be some rules. Rules that you will follow. Do I make myself clear?”

“Alright, first of all, the basics. No alcohol, drugs, anything illegal. Second, you will let us know if you are heading out, going somewhere else. We are to know where you are at all times. Third of all: you all will at least try and get along. Do I make myself clear?”

Dick, Artemis, Wally, M’gann, and Kaldur sat on the couch inside of the Cave staring up at Bruce. They all vigorously nodded their heads. 

“Well, you each have a key and are now free to come here whenever you please. But remember this is a privilege, not a right. this is a place you can come to hang out but do not abuse it.” Dinah added. 

“And just because we’re letting you guys come back here, doesn’t mean you’re all still not in trouble.” Barry gave them a pointed look. 

“He’s right. You’re all still grounded.” That was fair the teens thought. 

“Well then, I guess it’s all yours.” The five teens looked at one another grinning. They made some mistakes. People make mistakes, kids make mistakes. Mistakes they had learned from, mistakes that allowed them to grow. And now they had a place where they would surely make their own mistakes and ever more surely learns from them. They had a place of their own where they could grow.

Bruce wasn’t sure how he felt about that. All he knew was that the little boy he knew was growing up. And Bruce wasn’t about to miss out on that. He looked back one more time and saw that Dick and Wally were arguing over who got which controller. M’gann was babbling about girl things to Artemis and Kaldur was attempting to calm everyone down. Dick would be fine. He had his friends. 

One day Dick would no longer be his little boy. But for now he was still young, Young and ready for whatever would come next.


	3. Young Education

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which The Kiddies Attend School and Things Get Hella Awkward

“Do we do it?”

“I don’t know she looks so peaceful. I don’t wanna do it.” 

“Yeah.” Dinah and Oliver looked at each other and smiled. 

“WAKE UP!” they shouted at Artemis’ sleeping body. 

“Ahh! What’s happening?” Artemis cried jumping out of bed. “Is there a fire? Are we being robbed?” 

“Nope!” Dinah grinned. 

“Oh,” Artemis said. “Then...WHY?” Artemis got up off the floor and stared incredulously at the duo. 

“It’s your first day of school,” Oliver informed her. Artemis froze.

“It’s what now?” 

“First day of school.” There was a pause while Artemis look, wide-eyed at Oliver and Dinah. 

“Ha, this is a joke isn't it?” Artemis laughed nervously. “You guys are joking.” 

“Sorry, kiddo.” 

“No no, school starts tomorrow.” 

“Your old school does. Your new school starts today.” 

“New school?” Artemis paled.

“You’re gonna be attending Gotham High.” 

“I’m what?” Artemis fumed. Time to go, Oliver and Dinah thought. 

“Good luck, we love you, get dressed!” Dinah and Oliver said running out of her room slamming the door shut. 

“It would have been nice to know this information earlier!” Artemis yelled. This was not going to be fun. 

 

Artemis sighed as she headed for the main office. This school was huge. Artemis took a deep breath and walked up to the front desk.  
“Excuse me?” the secretary looked up at her, bored, “I’m new here…”

“Name?” the secretary sighed. 

“Artemis Crock.” 

“Here you go, good luck.” She handed Artemis a few papers. 

“Thanks,” Artemis mumbled as she looked over her schedule. As she turned around she nearly walked right into a blonde girl. The girl stood there smiling at her. 

“Can I help you?” Artemis asked. 

“No, silly! I’m here to help you. My name is Bette. I’m your student guide and I’ll show you around.” Artemis didn’t particularly want a student guide, but then again, she had absolutely no idea where her locker or classes where. So she followed Bette. Bette chatted about the school’s buildings and how it was the best school in the city, and blah, blah, blah...As Bette brought her to the courtyard, a dark blur darted next to her. 

“We’ll laugh about this someday!” Artemis heard a photo being snapped and before she could see who it was, they were gone. 

“Who was that?” Artemis asked they seemed familiar. 

“Freshman, ignore.” Bette waved her hand and led Artemis in the other direction. 

Meanwhile, Dick leant against a pillar laughing. 

“What was that all about, Dick?” 

“Nothing, Barbara. Just being nice to the new girl.” Barbara Gordon warily looked at her younger friend and sighed. 

 

“Hey, Megan!” Wendy Harris said bumping her hip into the freckled girl. 

“Hi, Wendy!” Megan smiled. “How was your summer?” Wendy told Megan about how she went to Mexico and how hot is was as they walked to homeroom together. 

“So how are you liking the new uniforms?” Wendy asked gesturing to Megan’s red and white cheer uniform. 

“They are so cute.” Megan gushed.

“You look fabulous!” The girls giggled and chatted as they walked into homeroom. 

“Hello, Megan!” Megan stopped walking and smacked her forehead. “I left my binder in my locker! Wendy, will you save me a seat?” Megan darted out and headed for her locker. In the halls, Megan bumped into Bia Bialyan the cheer captain at Gotham High. Otherwise known as Bee Bee or Queen Bee-atch, though no one ever said that one to her face. 

“Bee Bee, hi,” Megan smiled nervously. 

“Megan,” Bee Bee smiled sweetly. “Where are you running off to?” 

“Oh, I uh, I left my notebook in my locker. Just running to go get it.” Megan made sure her smile didn’t waver. 

“Hurry then. Also, we moved practice to Thursday after school. Don’t be late Megan.” Bee Bee smirked and walked off. Megan shivered but went to go grab her things. She walked with her head tucked down back to homeroom before she was late. Megan gave Wendy a bright smile and sat down. 

She was fine, she told herself. 

 

Wally looked at the ceiling bored. Why did he have to have history so early in the morning? It was the first day and they were delving right into World War I. Wally let out a bored sigh. Another two hours until lunch. He could make it, right? 

He heard his history teacher open the door and let a student in. 

“I’m sorry. I’m new and I got a little lost…” Wally’s head snapped up. He knew that voice. No...It couldn't be. He was hearing things. Right? 

“Everyone, this is Artemis. She’s new this year and I expect you all to give her a warm welcome. Ms Crock, there appears to be an empty seat in the back row.” Wally turned his head and stared in horror at the empty seat on his right. He covered his head with his arms. This could not be happening. Maybe she wouldn’t recognise him. 

Wally heard Artemis slip into her seat and the teacher droned on about Germany and England and something about an Archduke. So far, so good. 

At the same time, Artemis tried to keep her breathing even. It was all she could do to keep from screaming. She had spotted Wally immediately, his hair was like a fire hydrant after all. This could not be happening. No, Wally and she did not attend the same school. All she had to do was look forward and pay no attention to him. Everything would be fine. 

“Alright students, you’ll be working in partners for your first project. Pick any war throughout history and write up a detailed report on it. I know, I know, it’s the first day. But the sooner we get into this, the sooner you’ll learn how much fun history really is.” The teacher listed off partners while both Wally and Artemis prayed. There were thirty students in this class. What were the odds? 

“Artemis Crock and Wally West.” Damn. No choice but to finally accept each other's’ existence both teens turned to look at each other. 

“You didn’t tell us you were going to be going to Gotham High. “ Wally clenched his jaw. 

“I didn’t find out, until this morning.” Artemis grit her teeth. Artemis closed her eyes and sighed. This was not going to be any fun. She had called it. 

 

Dick was having a great day. Not only did he have easy classes but he also knew Wally and Artemis were going to be in for a surprise. It was now lunch time and Dick decided to pay his friends a visit. 

“Your locker is here?” Wally stared wide-eyed at the blonde standing next to her with her locker wide open. 

“Yeah, so?” Artemis glared. Wait a minute. Why was he here? “Oh god. Please no.” 

“Yes, unfortunately.” Wally slumped against the lockers. He couldn’t believe. What had he done to deserve this? 

Dick watched from the end of the corridor cackling. He slipped on a pair of shades and walked up to them. 

“Enjoying the first day back? You two don’t look too whelmed.” Dick said with fake sympathy. Artemis narrowed her eyes at him. “You go here too?” 

“So does Megan,” Dick informed cheerily. “Wow, you guys have lockers right next to each other? What are the odds?” Artemis turned and glared at him harder. 

“You did this didn’t you?” She accused. 

“Me? How would I? It’s not like Bruce donates a shit-ton of money each year or that I bring the secretary Alfie’s cookies every now and then. How could little old me possibly arrange all of this?” Dick smirked and walked off laughing. 

“That little, dick.” Artemis slammed her locker shut. 

“Well, you’re not wrong,” Wally mumbled. 

 

Lunch! Lunch was Wally’s favourite. And after today, he could really use some good food. Thankfully Gotham High had a sick cafeteria. He grabbed some food and headed outside to the courtyard. He saw Megan sitting with her cheerleader friends who were sitting with their jock friends. You’d think by 2017 high school stereotypes would be abolished in American schools. He passed by their table to go sit at Dick’s and his regular table. 

“West!” football linebacker Tommy Terror, who lived up to his name, called out. “Trying to bulk up there, West?” He gestured to Wally’s filled up a tray of food. Wally ignored him and kept walking. 

“Hey West. I wasn’t done talking to ya.” Tommy grabbed Wally’s collar and spun him around. “Why you in such a hurry, huh? Gotta hurry to your Richie-Rich friend?” Wally twisted out of the bigger boy’s grip scowling. “Hey, I’m talking to you Fatass!” Terror knocked Wally’s tray out of his hand and pushed him against the building wall. Why wasn’t anyone seeing this? Weren’t there supposed to be any teachers to stop this kind of stuff? 

“You need a breath mint man.” Oh, why would he say that? Tommy roared with anger. “You think you’re so funny huh? Let's see how many jokes you can make when a pummel your face in.” 

“Leave ‘em alone, Tommy. He ain’t worth the trouble.” Tommy’s twin sister Tuppence said eyeing around making sure no teachers or faculty saw a thing. Tommy glared at Wally and finally set him down. 

“You better not mess around with me again, West. Or next time,” Tommy a fist punching motion with his hand. He snarled at Wally one last time and walked off with his sister, Wally let out a sigh of relief. Problemo averted. He saw Dick sitting down at their table and decided to head over. 

“Where’s your lunch?” the younger boy frowned. 

“The Terror Twins,” Wally muttered scowling at his growling stomach. 

“Here.” Dick slide over the lunch Alfred had packed for him knowing his friend would need it more than him. 

“Thanks, dude!” Wally bit into the sandwich moaning. 

“Jesus, are you eating a sandwich or having an orgasm?” Artemis said in disgust as she slid next to Dick. Wally glared at her trying to keep his blush down. 

“What are you doing here.” he swallowed. 

Artemis smiled sweetly, “I go here. I thought we covered that this morning.” 

“I meant, why are you sitting with me?” 

“I’m not, I’m sitting with Dickface. You just so happen to be here too.” Dick ducked his head to hide his smirk. 

“Where’s Barbara?” Wally asked changing the subject. 

“With Bette and her other friends.” Dick jabbed his thumb to the left. Barbara used to eat lunch with Wally and him everyday. But she was ‘too old’ to hang out with a freshman now, Dick supposed.

“Why doesn’t Megan sit with us?” Artemis asked. 

“Megan sits at the cheerleader table.” 

Artemis looked behind her. “Should we say hi?” 

Wally rolled her eyes at her. Newbie. “No.”

“Why not?” 

“She’s sitting at the cheerleader table. With cheerleaders and jocks.” 

Artemis snorted. “What is this? Mean Girls?” Megan and some of her friends got up to put away their lunch trays and walked by their table. 

“Hey Megan!” Artemis waved. Megan smiled and waved back. She hadn’t been able to see Artemis all day.

“Eww, you know this her?” Crystal Frost looked over Artemis in disgust. Megan’s face flushed with embarrassment and anger. 

“You got a problem with me, Pom Poms?” Artemis glared. Crystal took a step back. Bee Bee stepped forward. 

“Excuse her. You’re new aren’t you?” The dark skinned girl smiled sweetly. 

“Yeah,” Artemis eyeing her cautiously. 

“I hope you have a good time here at Gotham.: And with that Bee Bee proceeded to walk away with her clique. Taking ten steps forward she frowned and spun around. “Megan lets go.” Megan stood awkwardly next to her friends’ table. 

“Megan. Let’s go now.” 

“I’m just gonna sit with my friends Bee Bee. I’ll talk to you later. “ Bee Bee narrowed her eyes at Megan and paused for a moment. She then plastered a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. 

“Okay, Megan. Hope you have fun.” 

Artemis frowned. What was up with that chick? She then turned to Megan who sat next to Wally. 

“I’m so glad you go here now too! This is going to be so much fun!” Megan squealed. 

“How was your day Megan?” Wally smiled flirtatiously at the other redhead. 

“It was good. I’m so glad that school’s starting again! Poor Kaldur, he has to be home-schooled. It would be so much better if he was here.” Megan babbled on about Gotham High while Dick and Wally interjected. Artemis listened happily but she couldn’t help shake the feeling that something was up. 

 

Artemis sighed as she waited for her ride. The day was finally over. She had survived. Now she could go home and take a nice long shower. And if she was lucky Ollie may have even cooked some of his chilli for dinner. But for now she was standing outside waiting for Roy to show the hell up. 

And then it got worse. 

“You’re still here?” Wally asked adjusting his straps. Artemis glanced over at him. She really wasn’t in the mood for this right now. 

“Yeah. Waiting for Roy to show up. You?’

“Uncle Barry is pretty much always late.” They fell into awkward silence. 

“Do you wanna meet up this weekend?” 

“What?” Wally’s eyes widened. 

“For the history project?” Artemis looked at Wally confused. He couldn’t have forgotten already.

“Oh, y-yeah. We can go to the library this weekend.” Wally sighed in relief, She wasn’t asking him out. Not that he wanted her to. I mean, gross. Thankfully Barry pulled up so Wally didn't have to make uncomfortable small talk with Artemis any longer. 

 

The weekend came much faster than Wally had expected. He gulped as he stared up at the public library. It was just a project He could survive a couple hours with Artemis, no matter how annoyingly infuriating she really was. Wally sighed and pushed open the door. He spotted Artemis’ blonde ponytail. She was sitting at a table in the back area in between two large bookshelves. Wally saw that she has a couple of history books sitting next to her as she typed on her laptop. Just a few hours, Wally reminded himself. He could do this. 

“You’re late.” Artemis didn’t even bother looking up. 

“There was traffic.” 

“Really? That’s the best excuse you could come up with?” Artemis rolled her eyes. 

“It’s not an excuse. It’s the truth. I had to take the bus, okay? Not everyone’s family has five fancy sports cars alright?’ Artemis’ head snapped up, her eyes flashed with anger. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Wally sat down across from her leaning back in his chair. 

“Unlike some people, I don’t have a personal chauffeur.” Artemis’ scowl deepened. 

“You think just because Oliver Queen adopted me—you know what. I don’t have time for this. Let’s just get this stupid project over with.” They both glared at each other for a minute longer. But the two teens weren’t working for long. Another series of arguments sprung up until the librarian asked them to leave. They were now walking through the streets, well arguing some more. 

“This is all your fault, Baywatch.” 

“My fault? This is your fault.” 

“Care to explain that one?” Artemis stopped walking and put her hands on her hips. 

“You’re the one who kept disagreeing with me.” 

“Because your ideas were terrible!”

“Were not!” 

“Were too. Accept it and move on Baywatch.” 

“They were not and don’t call me that!” 

Artemis smirked, “Call you what, Baywatch?” 

“Stop it.” 

“Make me, Baywatch.” Wally growled at her and took a step forward glaring. 

“Wally! Artemis! Hey, it’s me. Kara.” the blonde girl waved to them as she exited a cafe. “How’s it going? Wait, am I interrupting something?” Kara looked back and forth between the two teens. “Omigosh! Are you two on a...on a date!?” 

“A what?”

“NO!” 

“Why would you--why would you even think that?” Wally and Artemis then noticed how close they were standing next to each other. They immediately stepped away from each other blushing furiously. 

“Oh sorry, it’s just that the two of you were walking alone together and you turned and faced each other. And all the flirting before..” Kara rambled adjusting her glasses nervously. 

“Flirting? There was no flirting. There will never be any flirting.” Artemis said looking at Wally with a mix of horror and disgust. 

“Sorry!” Kara apologised once more, “I gotta go. And for the record, you guys would make a really cute couple.” Artemis and Wally looked at each other shocked once more. 

“Never.”

“Like I’d ever date you.”

“She’s crazy if she thinks—”

“Us, please.” 

“Yeah, hell will freeze over before that ever happens.” The two looked at each other awkwardly. 

“I should, umm, get home now.” Wally coughed out, running his hand through his fiery locks. 

“Yeah, Dinah and Ollie will start to worry if I don’t show up…” The two gave each other half-hearted waves and headed off. 

That did not turn out like Wally had expected. He just wasn't sure if that was a good thing or bad.


	4. Young Manatee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the kids Visit an Aquarium, Drug Dealers Sell Drugs, and Roy is Not A Part Of This.

“Do you have any sevens?” 

“Go fish.”

“You have any fives?” 

“Go fish.” Dick sighed. They had been playing this game for over an hour and no one had won yet. How was that even possible? 

“Ugh, can we please do something else. Anything.” Wally groaned. He leaned back on the couch slouching. Go Fish has to be the most boring game ever. After shuffleboard, that is. 

“You’re just whining because you’re losing, Baywatch,” Artemis smirked at his larger stack of cards.

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.” 

“Guys, come on. We’re almost done.” Megan interjected. But even she wasn’t having any fun. So why were they playing cards? The early autumn wind and been exceedingly strong this weekend and knocked over lots of electrical wires, and so no power at the Cave. “Do you have any fours, Kaldur?” 

Kaldur sighed and handed over his four to Megan. “It’s your turn, Wally.” 

“Dick, you got any nines?’ 

“Go fish.” Wally moaned and threw his cards down. “Can we please, please, please do something else?” 

“Yeah, you can pick up all these cards,” Artemis added tossing him the deck case. 

“When’s the power coming back on?” Megan moaned.

“You kids, honestly.” Dinah sighed coming in from the kitchen. “It’s not the end of the world. One day without technology and you’re falling apart.” 

“There’s nothing to do,” Dick whined. 

“Try talking to each other. Spending some time without WiFi might be good for you guys. I mean when was the last time—” Dinah was cut off by the sound of all the devices being turned on. The lights flashed brightly and voices could be heard from the television. 

“Oh thank the lord.” 

“Hallelujah!”

“Awesome!” 

“Sweet baby Jesus, yes!” 

“YES!” 

Dinah sighed as the kids whooped and cheered. Boredom was over. 

“Mmmhhh, oh.” Lois sighed. She closed her eyes and let out another moan. Oh yeah, that was the stuff. “Mmmh.” 

“Are you eating it or having sex with it?” Clark eyed Lois warily. Lois ignored him and kept eating her maple doughnut. She swung her legs back and forth from where she was sitting on her desk. 

“Got anything?” She asked. 

“Nothing. Looks like it’s a pretty slow news day.” Lois let out a long sigh and finished off her doughnut, downing Clark’s latte afterward. 

“Hey, Clark!” Kara wrapped her arms around her big cousin smiling. “I brought some lunch.” Kara produced a take out bag with two steak paninis inside. 

“Thanks!” Lois said snatching up the bag. Clark rolled his eyes and turned to Kara. 

“How’s work?” 

“Yeah, how is it working for Catty Claws?” 

“Be nice,” Clark warned. Lois made a face at him and continued munching on his panini. 

“Pretty good. Ms. Grant's not that bad. I got the rest of the day off. I thought we could go for some coffee or something.” 

“Sounds good.” 

Lois hopped off her desk as she eyed a certain photographer walking out of the elevator. 

“Olsen! You got those pictures or what?” 

“Got them all finished up, Ms. Lane.” Jimmy handed Lois and envelope but looked passed her to where Clark was sitting. 

“Who’s the blonde with Clark?” 

“Mmmh, what?” Lois turned back to where Jimmy was looking. “Oh, you mean Kara. Clark’s cousin.” 

“Oh, so that’s Clark’s cousin.” They walked over to Lois and Clark’s desk and Lois dropped the photos on Clark's lap. Kara looked up and blushed when she saw a handsome guy standing by Lois’ desk. 

“Oh Kara, this is our friend Jimm—”

“James. I’m James Olsen.” Jimmy extended his hand forward. 

“Since when?” Lois looked up from her computer.

“I’m a photographer at The Daily Planet.” 

“Oh wow, that’s um, that’s really cool.” Kara blushed harder realising she was still shaking his hand. 

“You got a pretty strong grip there.” 

“Oh haha, thanks.” Kara fiddled with her hands awkwardly. 

“So, did you guys want to go out for coffee?” Lois interjected. 

“Sure, we’re pretty much done here right?” Jimmy said. Kara’s eyes widened. 

“I can’t!” she said standing up straight. 

“What? Why not?” Clark frowned. 

“I c-can’t because I have to do something else.” Kara rambled shuffling into her coat. 

“But you just said—” 

“K-Krypto! I forgot to feed Krypto! Poor dog. I-I really gotta go. See you at home Clark.” Kara paused and turned. “It was really nice meeting you, James.” And she continued to scurry to the elevator.  
“Well, I’ll uh, go give these to Perry,” Jimmy said taking the photographs. 

“That was weird,” Clark said. 

“Yeah” Lois nodded her head. “I need more coffee.” 

“Are we there yet?” Wally drummed his fingers against his armrest.

Artemis snorted “Are you five years old?” 

Wally ignored her. He had found this new tactic to be rather difficult at times.”We’ve been in this car forever.” 

“We’re almost there” Iris sighed. It was rather remarkable how impatient he was. 

“This is going to be so much fun!” squealed Megan. “I’ve never been to the aquarium before!” 

“It will be great.” Kaldur agreed. “There will be a variety of marine life to be seen.” Kaldur enjoyed coming to the aquarium and enjoyed looking at the sea animals even more. He was studying marine biology and hoped to pursue a career in that field. 

“Can we watch the dolphin show?” Dick asked. 

“I wanna see the killer whales!” 

“Can we please look at the jellyfish?” 

“We can look at everything,” Iris assured them. Then added: “We’ll go from one end of the aquarium to the other.” to ensure no fights broke out about what they’d see first. 

“Awesome!” 

“That’s disgusting” Wally made a face at the display in front of him.

“I think it’s cute,” Megan said giggling. 

“It looks fat.” 

“And one day, so will you.” Artemis fake smiled and continued to watch the manatee swim in the water. 

“I like it,” Dick added. 

“Whatever.” The manatee was alone in its tank. It made moaning sounds as it swam around in circles. 

“Poor little guy. Doesn’t even have enough space to swim around.” Megan pressed her hands against the glass. 

“Yeah, he does look pretty sad,” Artemis said. Kaldur took a deeper look at the manatee. It seemed to have some strange markings on its side. The manatee stopped in front of the window facing Kaldur. It made a moaning sound as if it was trying to tell Kaldur something. Kaldur reached out and put his left hand on the glass. 

“Alright, kids! Let’s grab some lunch!” Iris said and the teens followed her back to the minivan arguing about where they’d stop to eat. 

Artemis groaned setting down her pen. She was never going to get this. Who even invented physics? She buried her head into her arms pushing her textbook to the other end of the dining table. 

“Trouble with the Physics homework?” Ah, the one voice that made her internally and externally cringe. Artemis sat up straight and decided she wouldn’t let him get to her. 

“Don’t you have any homework to do?” She jeered.

Wally grinned popping a Dorito into his mouth. “Nope finished it all already!” Artemis scowled. She had come to the Cave so she could focus on her homework since Roy and Ollie were having their weekly screaming match. But of course coming to the Cave was also a mistake. 

“You know, I could help. I’m pretty good at physics and stuff.”

“And stuff?” Artemis scoffed, “Thanks for the offer, Baywatch, but I’ll pass.” Before either of them could get in another word, Megan came frolicking into the dining area. “Hey, guys!”

“You good, Megs?” Artemis gestured to the girls slight limp. 

“Mmm, what? Hello, Megan!" Megan smacked her forehead before looking down at her ankle. "It’s nothing, just cheer practice. Bee Bee really wants to whip us into shape before competition season starts.” Megan made her way over to the table, stopping to grab some bottled water. Wally offered her some Doritos from his large bag, to which Megan politely refused.

“Bee Bee, huh?” Artemis twirled her pen in her hand. “She’s the tall bitchy one right?” 

Wally choked on his laughter and chips as Megan let out a soft gasp, scandalised. 

“Come on, she’s not that bad.” Megan insisted. “She’s a really good captain. And besides she—Nevermind.” Megan looked down at her hands flustered. Artemis shot her a confused look, but she refused to meet her eyes. Over the past few weeks, Megan and Artemis became pretty close. Mostly because she was the only other girl here, besides Kara who infrequently visited. 

“Sup guys.” Dick strolled in waving lightly. 

“Hey bro.” 

“What have you been up to, Dickface?” Artemis asked turning her attention back to her half finished Physics homework. Why did she even take this course? 

“Not much, Kaldur said he needed to talk to us all.” 

“Oh crap. That doesn’t sound good.” Wally sat up straighter. 

“What d’you mean?” Artemis frowned, looking back up. 

“Kaldur needs to “talk” to us. That’s code for “lecture us”. Wally said using his fingers to make air quotes. 

“But what about?” Megan pursed her lips, racking her brain to figure out what they could have done.

“I didn’t do anything.” Dick raised his hands in mock surrender. 

Megan shrugged, “Me neither.” 

“Don’t look at me,” Artemis added, trying not to look guilty. Kaldur couldn’t possibly know about her. Could he? 

The three looked over to Wally who was still shoving the remaining Dorito crumbs into his mouth. “Whaa?” 

“Me? I haven’t done anything!” Artemis raised an eyebrow at him. “Honest. It was probably Arty. you know how problematic she can be.” 

“Me?” Artemis asked incredulously. She stood up so she could properly glare at Wally. 

“Oh good, you’re all here.” Kaldur walked in with a somber look on his face. “There is a rather...concerning matter I’d like to address.” The four other teens all tried to pretend like they had nothing to hide. Had Kaldur been less preoccupied, he may have noticed this. But alas he had other things on his mind.

“What kind of matter?” Dick spoke up first.  
“You all remember when we went to the aquarium last week, yes?” Artemis felt relief flood through her. Okay, so this had nothing to do with her family. 

“Yeah, why?” Wally asked curiosity piqued. 

“I thought I saw something off about some of the exhibits. And so I dug around and did some research. And what I found was quite disturbing…”

“Jeez, Kaldur what was it!?” Dick asked, unable to deal with the suspense. 

“I believe the aquarium is abusing and illegally buying their animals.” 

“Oh, that’s terrible!” Megan gasped. 

“Yeah, you should, like, call PETA or the police or something.” Wally opened another bag of chips. Artemis rolled her eyes.

“He doesn’t have any proof Baywatch.” 

“Which is why you came and told us?” Dick asked Kaldur, a small smirk graced his lips. 

“Yes. I do not feel right standing by and allowing this animal cruelty to continue. But without any evidence, no charges can be pressed.” 

“Then I guess, we’ll just have to get some proof.” A full-blown smirk was on Dick’s face. Artemis sighed. Her physics homework was not getting done anytime soon. 

It was Friday after the aquariums visiting hours. The team of five (and Roy) had gone to the aquarium and did the old “hide-in-the-bathroom-until-the-place-closes” trick. 

“Alright. Everyone and Roy get into position.” Dick whispered into the comms. They slipped out of the bathroom, clad in black clothing and comms in their ears. 

“Why am I here again?” Roy asked arms crossed and Resting Bitch Face (RBF) activated. 

“Oh don’t pretend like you had other plans.” said Artemis. 

“Besides, we need a getaway driver”

“A getaway driver. This is a recon mission, we’re not stealing anything.” 

"Quiet!”

“This is not a mission. And you guys are going to get caught.” Roy hissed.

“You mean ‘we’re’ going to get caught.” Wally corrected.

‘No! I am not affiliated with any of you.” Roy glared.

“That’s what you said last time.”

“And yet here you are. Came crawling back to us like the pathetic, friendless—”

“I will abandon you all right now.”

“You can’t.” Dick smiled gleefully. “You’d set off the alarms.”

“So how are we getting out of here?” Artemis asked. Suddenly she felt like she should have asked for the full plan before going along with this. 

“Chill, I’ll disable all the security alarms when the time comes.” 

“How do you know how to do that?”

“It’s best if you don’t ask” Megan whispered.

“Okay then,” 

“Okay. Team...and Roy, remember, We’re looking for any hard evidence that these guys are abusing the animals.” Dick said. 

“Dick and Artemis will go into the security office and see if they can dig anything up. Megan and I will look around the exhibits and see if we can find any proof of harm to the animals. Wally and Roy will keep a lookout for any guards.” Kaldur instructed. Everyone nodded in confirmation while Roy muttered a weak ‘whatever’ under his breath. 

Dick and Artemis silently made their way to the security office. 

“It’s locked,” Dick stated plainly. Artemis wordlessly pulled two bobby pins from her bun and began working on the lock. Within seconds they were able to get in without anyone noticing. Except for the security guard inside who woke up with a jolt. 

“Hey! What are you two—” Artemis karate chopped him in between the shoulder and neck and the guard crumpled back into his rolling chair. 

“That was pretty slick there, James Bond.” Dick sounded amused as he immediately began working to break into the main computer. 

“You have your tricks, I have mine.” Artemis made her way over to the security cameras and began rewinding to see if there was anything on the cameras. 

The two worked without asking any further questions about how or why the other possessed the skills they did. After about fifteen minutes, Artemis began to notice a pattern in the security cameras.

“Hey, you find anything?” She asked Dick.

“Nothing particularly interesting. You?” 

“Yeah...every few nights from 1 am to 1:45 am the cameras get turned off. Like, they’re trying to hide something.” She turned to face Dick who was still searching through the mainframe. “Like the fact they’re illegally buying and selling marine animals and abusing them.” She waited for Dick’s response. 

“Or maybe something else...These records show that they’re doing some kind of deal a couple of times a week. Look at this,” Artemis peers over his shoulder, “they made $50 000 dollars on some sort of shipment three nights ago. $30 000 the week before that, they spent a couple thousand on some other shipment the week before that.” 

“I’m guessing that means they’re dealing a bit more than bottlenose dolphins.” Artemis stared at the list of transactions. She knew what that kind of money meant. She’d seen transactions like this before.

The security guard’s walkie-talkie buzzed. “Nick, turn off the cameras. A shipment is coming in soon. Over.” Dick and Artemis locked eyes with each other. 

“What now?”

Wally hated being a lookout. It was boring AF. No one was even here. Except for Roy who just stared broodingly into the dark. 

“This blows.” Wally huffed. Of course no response from Roy. Some sympathetic ear he was. At least Artemis always replied to his thoughts even if she was usually insulting him. Wait, why was he thinking of Artemis. Go away, evil thoughts. “This seriously blows.” 

He glanced at Roy who (surprise!) was still glaring at the wall. “Welp, I’ll be back soon.” 

“You’re supposed to be keeping watch.”

“First of all, WE are supposed to be keeping watch—”

“I am not a part of this.”

“Secondly,” Wally continued as if he had never been interrupted in the first place, “I’m just going to stretch my legs. Quit worrying so much.” And with that Wally turned the corner and began exploring the aquarium. 

Aquariums were creepy when they were closed. The only lights on were these creepy red ones every few meters. 

Creepy, man. 

Wally hummed lightly to himself as he continued to make his way through the building. He eventually found himself near a back entrance when he heard voices. 

“Shipment’s late, Will.”

“Relax, my guy will be here soon.” 

“He’d better be. You do not want to piss off King Shark.” Who was King Shark? Wally stayed close to the walls, trying not to be seen while he continued to watch and listen. 

Soon enough a truck pulled up. Some shady looking guys hopped out. 

“You got the cash?”

“You got the goods?”

“Cash first.” That went on for a while. Wally wasn’t an idiot. He knew this was definitely something illegal. 

“Guys?” he whispered pressing into his comms. “Uh, I think we should probably go now.” Wally looked back over to the group of men still arguing. Even in the dim lighting, he could make out their guns. Their very large guns. 

“Yeah, that sounds like a good idea.” Dick’s voice came through. 

“We should probably call the police first,” Wally said.

“Police? What the hell?” Roy’s voice crackled over the ear pieces. 

“Megan, Kaldur. Whatever you guys found, take pictures and meet back at the rendezvous point.” 

“Actually...there will have to be a slight change in plans…” Kaldur’s voice said in Wally’s right ear. 

“What?”  
“Just, everyone meet us at the south exit,” Megan said. 

“Roger that. Team..and Roy... move out!” 

When Wally made his way to the south exit there was a countless number of things he was NOT expecting. 

One of them included a manatee in a transport tank on the back of a 10-wheeler. 

And yet…

“What the actual fuck?” as Roy eloquently put it, was basically everyone’s reaction. 

“We saw him moaning and lying on the bottom of his tank. He has multiple injuries that need to be treated.” Kaldur finished attaching the trailer tank, completely calm as if there wasn’t a manatee in a tank on the back of a ten-wheeler. 

“We couldn’t just leave him!” Megan said hugging the glass cooing at the manatee. Well, then. 

“So we’re stealing a manatee?” Artemis asked. 

“No...sort of?” Megan at least looked sheepish. 

“Alrighty then...Shotgun!” Dick made his way over to the passenger seat as Roy grabbed the keys from Kaldur shaking his head and muttering. So they were all just going along with this?

The other four clambered into the back area when Wally remembered.

“Oh yeah, we should probably hurry because I’m like 97% sure there’s a drug deal going on back there.” 

The plan was simple. 

Okay, well the original plan was simple. The original plan was to sneak in, get info, sneak out, then call the police. 

The new plan was sneak in, get info, steal a motherfuckin’ manatee, and get out without alerting the drug dealers. Oh yeah and call the police somewhere in between. 

Simple enough right? But the forgot to consider one factor: Roy can’t drive for shit. 

“What are you going? We’re trying to get out of here quietly!” Artemis practically screeched at Roy.

“Hey! You try driving this giant-ass truck with a fucking manatee on the back.” They had been here for nearly fifteen minutes as Roy made his eighth attempt at getting out of the back parking lot. But of course making a turn intended for small cars with a giant ass truck was nearly impossible.

“Someone’s going to see us and we are going to die.”

“Everyone, stay calm. Roy will manage to get out of the parking lot and then we’re home free.” Dick insisted. A couple of tries after that, Roy became more and more frustrated.

“Screw it. Fuck those trees.” And with that Roy slammed on the breaks with the intention through a little garden area near the exit before making back onto the road. That probably would have worked. 

Had the truck not been in reverse. 

The group screamed as the truck went backwards, smashing through a series of gates and right into another lot. The lot where the shady-ass drug deal was going on.

“Is the manatee alright?” 

“What the fuck Kaldur, we almost died.” 

“Thanks to Roy, yeah.” 

“You know wha—”

“Guys!” Everyone looked over to where the drug dealers were currently looking at the 10-wheeler with great confusion. 

“Who the fuck are you guys?” 

“Oh shit.” 

There were not many solutions to this scenario. 

So Roy did the only thing he could think of, as the local Responsible Adult™: He fucking plowed through those assholes, turned onto the main road and made a break for it, all while ignoring the screaming protests of a group of teenagers and the not-so-subtle wails of a dying manatee. 

Oh yeah, and they called the police somewhere in between.

If you were a normal citizen who watched the news, on Saturday morning you would see the Daily Planet reporting a drug bust at the local aquarium, with the help of an anonymous tip. Apparently, a minor drug lord who went by the name King Shark (what?) had been using the front of an aquarium to sell cocaine and purchase and sell exotic marine life to other criminal under-lords. The bust was a big win for the police who had been attempting to find the location of King Shark for months (his name’s King Shark, why didn’t they check aquariums earlier?). Also, there was a large amount of unexplainable property damage and a stolen delivery truck and a manatee whose whereabouts were, as of now, unknown. 

“You erased all video footage?”

“Yep.”

“The truck?”

“Sold it to a guy at the junkyard. He gave me cash and said he was going to trash it for parts.” 

“The manatee?”

“A friend of Mera’s works at a marine life rehabilitation center a few towns away. The manatee will be staying there for now. No connections to us of course, it was all anonymous.” 

“Sweet!” Wally flopped onto the couch in the Cave with a bowl of popcorn. “Looks like we’re in the clear.”

“For once.” Artemis scoffed. 

“Hey, this was a victory,” Dick declared. 

“Dick’s right. We saved that poor manatee and lots of other animals.” Megan smiled.

“Yes, those evil animal abusers will be locked away for a long time.” Kaldur nodded in agreement.

“We also kinda stopped a major drug dealer.” 

“But we also saved a manatee!”

“Also the drugs though.”

“Mostly the manatee though.”

“Either way, we rock!” Dick grinned. “And we didn’t even get in trouble.”

Everyone was in agreement with that. 

Meanwhile…

“You know it was the kids at the aquarium last night?” 

Bruce took a sip of his coffee and turned his attention to the scones Alfred left them.

“They were caught on a traffic camera away unloading a manatee. Of course, I got the traffic cam guy to erase it” 

Bruce debated whether he should butter his scone or not. Nah, the scone would taste fine without butter.

“But you knew all of this, didn’t you?” Clark raised an eyebrow at his seemingly calm best friend. ”You’re not going to punish them?”

“Clark, sometimes it’s better to ignore these things.” Ignoring meant he didn’t have to deal with the fact that his teenaged son and his friends broke into an aquarium in the middle of the night and stole a manatee while interrupting a drug deal. 

“You think they went to stop the drug deal or steal the manatee.” 

“Clark if I give this any more thought I will literally have an aneurysm.” Clark couldn’t help but smile at Bruce’s twitching eye as he sipped his coffee and shook his head slightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is the first new chapter in well pretty much forever. Chapter 5 will be up after my exams so in a few weeks.

**Author's Note:**

> Previously posted and orphaned under another name. Decided it was time to get my shit together and maybe finish this.


End file.
